Packaging device

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a modularly constructed packaging device, comprising: a package feed ( 2 ) for feeding empty packages ( 20 ), a product feed ( 3 ) for feeding products ( 30, 40 ), a loading station ( 4 ), in which the products are packed into the empty package in order to provide a packaging container ( 21 ), and a cardboard-box discharge ( 5 ), which leads away the packaging container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a packaging device for packaging piecegoods, in particular in the field of packaging machines.

Packaging devices of the prior art generally work with a conveyor chain,which transports packages or trays through the device. This results in acomplicated construction as well as large space requirements. Inaddition, the devices do not have a modular construction, whichfacilitates a simple, quick and flexible adaptation to different packagesizes and package types, for example, having different rankings andlayer patterns of the products in the package. Specially constructedpackaging devices have, therefore, to be constructed in each case fordifferent applications; thus requiring a considerable investment of bothtime and money. A complex device for filling cardboard boxes is knownfrom the German patent application DE 37 20638 A1, with which tubes laidin trays are packaged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The packaging device according to the invention has in contrast theadvantage that said device comprises a plurality of modularly arranged,individual component assemblies having few functions, whereby a veryrobust, simple and cost effective design is achieved. As a result of themodular construction, the packaging device according to the inventionfacilitates the adaptation to a plurality of rankings and layerpatterns, e.g., of products having different tubular shapes, and furtherfacilitates a flexible expansion to other package types. In so doing,the application of the inventive packaging device is possible inparticular for the packaging of pillow bags, doy-style packages andstand-up packages in all conventional cardboard boxes or trays.According to the invention, this is achieved by virtue of the fact thatthe modularly constructed packaging device comprises a package feed forfeeding empty packages, a product feed for feeding products and aloading station, in which the products are packed into the empty packagein order to provide a packaging container. Provision is furthermore madefor a cardboard-box discharge, which leads away the packaging container.By means of the structural design into individual module areas, a smallbase area having small traveling distances for loading is achieved.Smaller and more energy efficient drive systems can therefore be used.

According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, the loadingstation has a first space and a second space, wherein the products arepacked into the empty package at the second space.

The first and the second space of the loading station are preferablyarranged in a row along an axis. An axial thrust unit is furtherprovided, which acts on the package positioned at the first space inorder to push the packaging container situated at the second space ontothe cardboard-box discharge by means of an axial thrust. Because thepackages push each other onward until they reach the cardboard-boxdischarge, a conveyor chain is not required. In addition, the simply andcost-effectively constructed loading station facilitates continuouspackaging steps having short cycle times.

The packaging device further preferably comprises a first lateral thrustunit, which pushes the empty package from the package feed onto thefirst space of the loading station. In so doing, a simple andoperationally reliable feeding of the loading station is achieved. Thelow dead weight of the package as well as the low frictional resistanceduring horizontal displacement furthermore facilitates the use of small,cost effective drive motors for the first lateral thrust unit.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the loadingstation comprises tilting equipment, which tilts the package preferablyby 90°. In so doing, a horizontal loading of the package withoutvertical traveling distances can be carried out more simply and morequickly. In addition, a desired horizontal or vertical loading of thepackage can alternatively occur without retrofitting the packagingdevice.

The tilting equipment further preferably comprises a support area,wherein one side of the package rests against the support area. Saidsupport area ensures an operationally reliable support of the packagewhen the horizontal loading process takes place in the tilted position.In addition, a reliable feed of the packaging container is achieved whenbeing pushed in the non-tilted or tilted back position to thecardboard-box discharge.

The packaging device further preferably comprises a second lateralthrust unit, which pushes the products into an empty package at thesecond space of the loading station. In so doing, a horizontal loadingof the package can be implemented with minimized constructionexpenditure and with a very short thrust distance.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the packagingdevice comprises a vibrating unit for vibrating the packaging container.In so doing, a compacting of the products situated in the package, inparticular during bagging, is achieved; thus enabling the degree offilling to be increased. The vibrating unit is preferably integratedinto the loading station and is thereby arranged under the second spaceof the loading station.

The package feed and the product feed are further preferably arrangedparallel to one another, and the cardboard-box discharge is preferablyarranged parallel to said package feed and said product feed. Anoptimized integration of lines comprising a minimized base surface ofthe total packaging device is thereby achieved.

The second lateral thrust unit further preferably comprises a storagespace, whereat a plurality of products is temporarily stored, whereinthe second lateral thrust unit pushes the temporarily stored products asa unit into the package at the second space of the loading station.Specially required rankings and/or layer patterns for certain productscan therefore already be fashioned at the storage space before insertioninto the package. Depending upon the layer pattern, linear suctiondevices, grippers, stacking boxes and sliders can thereby be used, viawhich all conventional rankings and loadings can be produced.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the package feedcomprises a format-adjusting unit in order to facilitate a changeover toother packaging formats or cardboard-box sizes. In so doing, a simple,time and cost efficient changeover or, respectively, adjustment to otherpackaging formats is possible. In addition, the installation of formatchangeover parts, which may be required, can substantially take placewithout the use of tools.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described below in detailwith reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of a packaging deviceaccording to a first exemplary embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic top view of the device from FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the loading station of the devicefrom FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 shows a top view of the packaging device from FIG. 1 having achanged packaging format.

FIG. 5 shows a perspective partial view of the packaging deviceaccording to a second exemplary embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic perspective view of the packaging deviceaccording to a third exemplary embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of tilting equipment of the packagingdevice from FIG. 5 in a tilted position.

FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of the tilting equipment from FIG. 6 ina non-tilted position.

FIG. 9 shows a perspective partial view of the packaging deviceaccording to a fourth exemplary embodiment of the invention, and

FIG. 10 shows a perspective partial view of the packaging deviceaccording to a fifth exemplary embodiment of the invention.

A modularly constructed packaging device according to a first preferredexemplary embodiment of the invention is described below in detail withreference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of a packaging device 1according to the first exemplary embodiment of the invention. Thepackaging device 1 comprises a package feed 2, a product feed 3, aloading station 4 and a cardboard-box discharge 5. By means of thepackage feed 2, open, empty packages 20 are transported via a conveyorbelt 2 a in a first axial direction A1 with respect to a first lateralthrust unit 8 arranged axially at the end of the package feed 2. Thepackages 20 are thereby guided on the conveyor belt 2 a via left andright guide rails 24 a, 24 b. A format-adjusting unit 22 is furtherprovided at the package feed 2, By means of spindles 23, said adjustingunit 22 facilitates an adjustment of the guide rails 24 a, 24 bvertically with respect to the first axial direction A1 in accordancewith the width of the package 20. By means of a further spindle 26, astop 25 of the first lateral thrust unit 8 is adjusted in the oppositedirection to the first axial direction A1. When the package 20 hasreached the stop 25 in the first lateral thrust unit 8, the feed of thepackage feed 2 is interrupted. Thereafter a push element 8 a of thefirst lateral thrust unit 8 pushes the package 20 in a fourth axialdirection A4 up to a stop element 41 on a first space 4 a of the loadingstation 4 which is arranged parallel to the first axial direction A1.

The conveyor unit 3 which is arranged parallel to the package feed 2transports in each case five products 30, which are accommodated in atray 33 and are depicted here by way of example in the shape of pillowbags, in a third axial direction A3 with respect to a removal position35. A suction device 32 removes the products 30 from the tray 33 andthereby loads the package 20 positioned on a second space 4 b of theloading station 4 in a fifth axial direction A5 and according to apredetermined loading pattern. In so doing, the loading occurs at a dropheight of “zero”, i.e. without the products being dropped into thepackage.

After loading a package, an axial thrust unit 7 pushes the empty package20 from the first space 4 a further in a second axial direction A2, saidempty package 20 pushing accordingly the loaded package 20 as apackaging container 21 from the second space 4 b of the loading station4 further onto the cardboard-box discharge 5, which leads away thepackaging container 21. As can be seen in FIG. 2, the first space 4 aand the second space 4 b of the loading station 4 and the cardboard-boxdischarge 5 are arranged in a row along an axis or, respectively, in thesecond axial direction A2. The top view of the packaging device depictedin FIG. 2 serves to illustrate in detail the relationship between theindividual modules and the substantially horizontal movements of thepackages 20 and the products 30 during conveyance. It should be notedhere that the suction device 32 in FIG. 2 is not completely depicted forthe sake of better clarity.

As can be seen in FIG. 3, provision is made for a vibrating unit forvibrating the package 20 during loading. In so doing, a compacting ofthe products 30 in the package as well as a homogenization of the layersoccurs, which increase the degree of filling.

FIG. 4 shows the packaging device from FIG. 1 having a changed packagingformat, wherein the guide rails 24 a are adjusted vertically withrespect to the first axial direction A1 to the smaller width of thepackage 20 by means of the spindle 23 of the format-adjusting unit 22and in the opposite direction of the first axial direction A1 to thesmaller length of the package 20 by means of the spindle 26. During theformat changeover, the push element 8 a can be changed without the useof tools and the suction unit 32 can be replaced by means of aninterchangeable format piece. It should be hereby noted that the axialthrust unit 7 can be identically maintained for all formats and thestrokes of the first lateral thrust unit 8 as well the axial thrust unit7 are the same for all formats.

A packaging device according to a second preferred exemplary embodimentof the invention is described below in detail with reference to FIG. 5.Identical or functionally identical components are denoted here with thesame reference numerals as in the first exemplary embodiment.

In contrast to the first exemplary embodiment previously described, thepackaging device 1 of the second exemplary embodiment comprises agripping device 34 instead of the suction device 32 used in the firstexemplary embodiment. The gripping device 34 grips the products 30,delivered from the product feed in trays 31 in the standing position tothe removal position 35 and depicted here by way of example in the formof doy-style packages, and positions said products into the package 20in the standing position.

As can be seen from FIG. 5, the packaging device 1 according to theinvention can only be changed over in a simple manner to the changedproduct form and to the position and ranking thereof in the package 20by means of an adaptation of the module of the product feed 3 includingthe inserted trays 31 as well as the module of the gripping device 34.The other modules of the packaging device 1 can be retained in anunchanged manner. Besides the very short set-up times, the small basearea which remains unchanged is also thereby particularly advantageousfor the line integration.

A packaging device according to a third preferred exemplary embodimentof the invention is described below in detail with reference to FIGS. 6to 8. Identical or functionally identical components are denoted herewith the same reference numerals as in the first exemplary embodiment.

The packaging device according to the third exemplary embodimentsubstantially comprises the same arrangement as that of the firstexemplary embodiment. In contrast to the first exemplary embodiment, thepackaging device 1 of the third exemplary embodiment comprises however asecond lateral thrust unit 10 having a storage space 10 a, in(to) whichthe products 30 (pillow bags or doy-style packages) are introduced in astacked manner or, respectively, temporarily stored by means of thesuction device 32. Provision is further made for tilting equipment 9,which is provided at the second space 4 b of the loading station 4. Ascan be seen in detail in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the empty package 20positioned on the second space 4 b of the loading station 4 can betilted by means of the tilting equipment 9 counterclockwise about anangle of 90° in relation to the second axial direction A2; thus enablingthe opening of the package 20 to be substantially horizontallypositioned. In this tilted position, the second lateral thrust unit 10inserts the products 30 temporarily stored (stacked) at the storagespace 10 a horizontally into the package 20. The tilting equipment 9 isthereafter brought again into the non-tilted position depicted in FIG. 8for the further transport of the package. The tilting equipment 9further comprises a support area 9 a, which is arranged perpendicularlyto the bottom surface of the package 20 and on which a side of thepackage abuts and is supported during the tilting movement. In thenon-tilted position, the support area 9 a in the region of the secondspace 4 b serves together with a stop element 41 a, which is configuredhere in a shortened manner, in the region of the first space 4 a of theloading station 4 as a guide for the displacement of the packages 20 bymeans of the axial thrust unit 7.

By means of the loading station 4 which is expanded by the secondlateral thrust unit 10 and the tilting equipment 9, packaging containers21 comprising vertically loaded pillow bags or doy-style packages cantherefore be produced. As a result, the remaining modules used in thefirst exemplary embodiment can be maintained unchanged. The conveying ortravel distances of the suction device 32 are furthermore substantiallysimpler and shorter than those of the gripping device 34 in the secondexemplary embodiment. The changeover to the changed position and rankingof the products can be carried out with very short downtimes or,respectively, changeover times of the system and with minimal personnelcosts and expenses.

A packaging device according to a fourth preferred exemplary embodimentof the invention is described below in detail with reference to FIG. 9.Identical or functionally identical components are denoted here with thesame reference numerals as in the previous exemplary embodiments.

In this fourth exemplary embodiment, products 40 fed in the uprightposition, in the form of stand-up packages, are delivered from theproduct feed 3 to the second lateral thrust unit 10 arranged in thiscase in the third axial direction A3 at the end of the product feed 3. Aguide rail 37 disposed in the conveyance direction or, respectively, inthe third axial direction A3 aligns the products axially flush to oneanother. The second lateral thrust unit 10 has an end stop 10 b andpushes in each case three products in the fifth axial direction A5 intothe package 20 that is similarly tilted as in the third exemplaryembodiment. The fully laden package 20 is then turned back into thenon-tilted position and led away via the cardboard-box discharge 5 as apackaging container 21 having a horizontal load. In contrast to theexemplary embodiments previously described, a suction device or grippingdevice is not required in this case: thus enabling shorter clock cyclesto be implemented for loading the package 20.

A packaging device according to a fifth preferred exemplary embodimentof the invention is described below in detail with reference to FIG. 10.Identical or functionally identical components are denoted here with thesame reference numerals as in the previous exemplary embodiments,wherein the products are likewise stand-up packages.

In contrast to the fourth exemplary embodiment previously described, theproducts 40 delivered horizontally from the product feed 3 are in thiscase packed horizontally into the tilted package 20. The packagingcontainer is tilted backwards and is led away as a packaging container21 having a vertical load. The packaging device 1 of the fifth exemplaryembodiment has, with the exception of the width of the guide rail 37,substantially the same arrangement as well as advantages as those of thefourth exemplary embodiment. Based on the fourth exemplary embodiment, achangeover of the layer pattern of the packaged products 40 cantherefore be carried out on short notice without significant effort andexpense.

The packaging devices 1 according to the invention described in theexemplary embodiments have the advantage that essentially allconventional bags or product packages having respectively horizontal aswell as vertical ranking and different layer patterns can be packed intoall conventional cardboard boxes due to the modular construction withonly very few, simple functions. In addition, a flexible formatchangeover as well as a simplified upgrading to future types ofpackaging and applications is possible. By the elimination of conveyorchains, short traveling distances as well as a small required base areafor line integration can further be implemented.

1. A modularly constructed packaging device, comprising: a package feed(2) for feeding empty packages (20), a product feed (3) for feedingproducts (30, 40), a loading station (4), in which the products (30, 40)are packed into an empty package (20) in order to provide a packagingcontainer (21), and a cardboard-box discharge (5), which leads away thepackaging container (21).
 2. The packaging device according to claim 1,characterized in that the loading station (4) has a first space (4 a)and a second space (4 b), wherein the products (30, 40) are packed intothe empty package (20) at the second space (4 b).
 3. The packagingdevice according to claim 2, characterized in that the first and secondspace (4 a, 4 b) of the loading station (4) are arranged in a row alongan axis (A2) and an axial thrust unit (7) is provided, which acts on thepackage (20) positioned at the first space in order to push thepackaging container (21) situated at the second space (4 b) onto thecardboard-box discharge (5) by means of an axial thrust.
 4. Thepackaging device according to claim 2, further comprising a firstlateral thrust unit (8), which pushes the empty package (20) from thepackage feed (2) onto the first space (4 a) of the loading station (4).5. The packaging device according to claim 1, characterized in that theloading station (4) comprises tilting equipment (9).
 6. The packagingdevice according to claim 5, characterized in that the tilting equipment(9) comprises a support area (9 a), wherein one side of the package (20)abuts on the support area (9 a).
 7. The packaging device according toclaim 2, further comprising a second lateral thrust unit (10), whichpushes the products (30, 40) into an empty package (20) at the secondspace (4 b) of the loading station (4).
 8. The packaging deviceaccording to claim 1, further comprising a vibrating unit (12) forvibrating the packaging container (21).
 9. The packaging deviceaccording to claim 1, characterized in that the package feed (2) and theproduct feed (3) are arranged parallel to one another.
 10. The packagingdevice according to claim 7, characterized in that the second lateralthrust unit (10) comprises a storage space (10 a), whereat a pluralityof products (30, 40) are temporarily stored, wherein said second lateralthrust unit (10) pushes the temporarily stored products (30, 40) as aunit into the package (20) at the second space (4 b) of the loadingstation (4).
 11. The packaging device according to claim 1,characterized in that the package feed (2) comprises a format-adjustingunit (22) in order to facilitate a changeover to other packagingformats.
 12. The packaging device according to claim 1, characterized inthat the loading station (4) comprises tilting equipment (9), and theempty package (20) is tilted by 90°.
 13. The packaging device accordingto claim 1, characterized in that the package feed (2) and the productfeed (3) are arranged parallel to one another and the cardboard-boxdischarge (5) is arranged parallel to said package feed (2) and productfeed (3).
 14. The packaging device according to claim 3, furthercomprising a first lateral thrust unit (8), which pushes the emptypackage (20) from the package feed (2) onto the first space (4 a) of theloading station (4).
 15. The packaging device according to claim 14,characterized in that the loading station (4) comprises tiltingequipment (9).
 16. The packaging device according to claim 15,characterized in that the tilting equipment (9) comprises a support area(9 a), wherein one side of the package (20) abuts on the support area (9a).
 17. The packaging device according to claim 16, further comprising asecond lateral thrust unit (10), which pushes the products (30, 40) intoan empty package (20) at the second space (4 b) of the loading station(4).
 18. The packaging device according to claim 17, further comprisinga vibrating unit (12) for vibrating the packaging container (21). 19.The packaging device according to claim 18, characterized in that thepackage feed (2) and the product feed (3) are arranged parallel to oneanother.
 20. The packaging device according to claim 19, characterizedin that the second lateral thrust unit (10) comprises a storage space(10 a), whereat a plurality of products (30, 40) are temporarily stored,wherein said second lateral thrust unit (10) pushes the temporarilystored products (30, 40) as a unit into the package (20) at the secondspace (4 b) of the loading station (4).